looking for work. the government releases the latest jobless figures, while the presidential candidates offer their solutions on breaking the unemployment stalemate. >> highway disaster, at least one person is killed and dozens more hurt when a bus slams into a bridge support. and inside the attack. new video shows a terror group plotting and carrying out a new video shows a terror group plotting and carrying out a strike against u.s. troops. captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, august 3, 2012. good morning everybody. good to be with you on a friday. i'm terrell brown. the most dominant theme of campaign 2012 is the economy, it particularly the unemployment rate. and there will be more fuel for the fire this morning. the labor department releases

the jobs report for july a little later. there are just two more jobs reports before election day. that means time is running out for president obama to deliver on his previous goal to get the jobless rate below 8% and mitt romney is seizing the opportunity. susan mcginnis is in washington with more on that. susan, good morning to you. >> terrell, good morning. the unemployment rate has been stuck at 8.2% for three months and it's been above 8% for more than three years. and for voters that we talked to, including small business owners, that's a big issue for the november election. three months before the presidential election a key indicator of the job market is being released today that could help voters make up their minds. economists expect the july employment report to show the economy added 100,000 jobs last month, enough to absorb new americans entering the workforce, but not enough to lower the rate from 8.2%. >> michael gorman is a home builder in virginia. before the recession he employed 44 people full-time.

today he's down to himself and one other person who works one day a week. >> as the economy has contracted, so have we. >> he says he's been through recessions before but none have lasted this long. five years after we started the downturn and we're not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. >> michael gorman lives in the battleground state of virginia and is exactly the type of voter that both president obama and mitt romney are targeting. romney has been using the unemployment numbers to attack the president. >> he said he would hold unemployment below 8%. it's not been below 8% for 40 straight months. that's the longest period in american history. >> the president says romney's plan to create jobs by cutting taxes for wealthy americans won't work. >> they have tried to sell us this trickle down tax cut fairy dust before. it didn't work then. it will not work now. >> but so far, the president has not been able to convince gorman he can turn around the economy. he says he'll vote for romney.

romney is promising a 4% jobless rate if he wins the white house. the president will talk about the jobless numbers at just before noon eastern time today. terrell? >> susan mcginnis in washington for us this morning. have a good weekend. thank you so much. romney is firing back at democratic senate leader harry reid who has been saying that romney hasn't paid taxes for ten years. romney says that's just not true. >> it's time for harry to put up or shut up. harry has to describe who it is he spoke with. because, of course, that's totally and completely wrong. it's untrue, dishonest and inaccurate. it's wrong. so i'm looking forward to have harry reveal his sources and we'll probably find out it's the white house. >> romney has refused to release more than a year or two of his tax returns. reid says an unnamed investor with bain capital told about romney's alleged tax situation. he has no evidence to substantiate the claim and is

not sure if it's true. federal transportation officials are investigating the crash of a packed double-decker mega bus in illinois. at least one passenger was killed and dozen injured when the bus skidded into a bridge support yesterday. passengers heard a loud noise before the crash. teresa garcia reports. >> a blown tire is believed to be what caused a fully loaded double decker mega bus to crash into a bridge support pillar on interstate 5 in litchfield, illinois. the bus carrying 81 passengers was en route from chicago to kansas city when it went out of control. >> i heard the tire go out and just felt a bumpy ride as we were going off the road and then a just really sudden impact. >> it kind of felt like the bus was going to tip. the driver regained control eventually of the bus and was able to keep it upright. but obviously could not stop in time to -- before hitting the

massive pillar. >> rescue crews used ladders to get to the victims, some trapped on the second floor of the bus. that's where zack hall was seated. >> i kind of came to and i saw you that there were people on the floor. a lot of people had bloody faces. >> 30 ambulances and ten helicopters were on scene to transport the wounded whose injuries ranged from cuts and bruises to broken bones and worse. >> there were three patients whose injuries are a little more serious. they may need surgery so they're being transferred out. >> two years ago, another mega bus was involved in an accident near syracuse, new york. four people were killed. the national highway traffic safety administration is already working with illinois officials on an investigation into thursday's crash. teresa garcia, cbs news. with this peace efforts failed kofi annan is stepping down as the special envoy to syria. annan will stay on the job until the end of the month. the finger pointing is going on.

russia blames the west for the failure. the u.s. and others blame russia for undermining annan's efforts in the security council and annan blames everybody, particularly the syrian government. in financial times, annan writes, it is clear president bashar assad must leave office and says the focus should be on a peaceful transition but warns none of this is possible without genuine compromise on all sides. in syria, at least 20 people were killed when mortar rounds were fired at a palestinian camp in damascus. protesters took to the streets after the shelling. yesterday in the north, rebel troops used a tank to shell a military base near syria's largest city, aleppo. to pakistan, a country used as a safe-haven to launch attacks. two months ago they attacked a u.s. base and videotaped it. david martin gives us an inside look at the plot and the strike. >> if you ever wondered what goes on in those safe-havens in pakistan, look at this. terrorists built a scale model

of an american base just across the border in afghanistan and used it along with a satellite photo taken off the internet to plan a spectacular attack. they may look like rambo wannabes, but this was a well-planned operation, down to the american and afghan army uniforms they wore. the attack was led by this man. the driver of a truck loaded with an estimated 2,000 pounds of homemade explosives. this bomb was covered only by a tarp that he apparently had no difficulty driving across the border and right up to forward operating base salerno. the driver detonated the bomb setting off a monstrous fireball followed by a blast wave which rippled across the base. all recorded for maximum propaganda value. next, a van carrying a ten-man suicide squad pulled up. their plan was to charge through a hole in the wall blown out by the truck bomb.

but the attack stalled because a u.s. official said, the bomb failed to breach a second barrier. the video doesn't show it, but all ten were gunned down. photos of the aftermath show the base mess hall collapsed by the blast wave. two americans were killed and 25 wounded seriously enough to require evacuation. it was far from the deadliest attack on american forces, but the size of that fireball and the resulting blast wave are dramatic proof of the threat posed by the safe-havens in pakistan. the attack was the work of a group called the haqqani network which according to u.s. officials not only has safe havens in pakistan but is actually supported by pakistani intelligence. david martin, cbs news, the pentagon. we'll take a quick break. when we come back, another wildfire burns out of control in california threatening about 100 homes and some very rare baseball cards burn up the auction house making one family very happy and very rich.

a deep, throbbing, persistent ache. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and for some people, it can work in as early as the first week of treatment. so now i can do more of the things that i enjoy. lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. with less pain, i'm feeling better now that i've found lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain.

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this right here may look like a junkyard, but it's really a police station parking lot in northern vermont. all the squad cars are among seven police vehicles crushed on thursday by a guy with a giant farm tractor. a guy who had a grudge against the cops. i guess he thought he wasn't going to get caught. he did, though, the 34-year-old suspect faces charges. the damage estimate, a quarter million dollars. more than 300 firefighters are battling a major fire in northern california. it's in the shasta trinity forest. it threatens 100 homes and commercial buildings. about 900 acres have burned. fire officials say the fire is about 20% contained. some of the caribbean's most popular vacation islands are bracing for tropical storm ernesto this morning. it's centered lest than 80 miles east of barbados. with sustained winds of 50 miles per hour. tropical storm warnings are up in st. lucia, martinique, guadalupe and other islands.

cbs "moneywatch" time now on a friday. mortgage rates creep back up and an amazing collection of antique baseball cards hit the auction block. ashley morrison is here in new york with those stories and more. good morning, terrell. europe's financial leaders didn't do much to inspire investors thursday. the policy meeting concluded with promises of action to keep the euro afloat but no concrete steps. investors were hoping the ecb would start buying government bonds to lower borrowing costs of struggling countries. overseas markets didn't react well to the news. the nikkei slid more than 1%, while the hang seng was down a fraction. wall street will keep an eye on t july reports. the news out of europe caused investors to dump stocks. the dow lost 92 points, while the nasdaq was down 10. the house voted to extend disaster assistance to sheep and cattle producers hit hard by the drought. the $383 million measure restores four aid programs that expired last year.

critics of the legislation say it falls short of a proposed five-year farm bill. it's a tale of two car giants, one in the fast lane, the other trying to keep up. overnight, toyota reported a $3.7 billion quarterly profit. the car maker says sales from april to june rose 60%. meanwhile, general motors' growth has stalled. gm's second quarter net profits fell 41% due to a slump in european sales. from the attic to the auction block, a century-old baseball card collection brought in quite a haul last night. a selection of 37 cards sold for more than $566,000. the cards were tucked away in the attic of an ohio home for 100 years until a family found them back in february. there are more cards to be auctioned off over the next few years and the entire collection could go for up to $3 million. terrell, i think i need to head home to my parents' house and crawl up in that attic.

>> this is a lesson, you treat grandma, grandpa, auntie, uncles, all them right. you never know what they might leave behind. >> offer to clean out their attic, too. >> get in there. ashley morrison, have a good weekend. your friday morning weather is coming up. what happens when an umpire with no sense of humor gets a little ribbing from a guy playing music at the ballpark? you're out of here! wait until you see this. ballpark. you're out of here! wait until you see this.

here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. partly sunny skies in new york, 90 degrees. thunderstorms in miami, 89. thunderstorms in chicago, 88. sunny in dallas, 106. partly cloudy skies in los angeles, 77 degrees. let's check your national forecast. more record heat could be on tap for the southern plains from kansas to north texas. scattered thunderstorms will range across the southeast. a strong cold front will bring thunderstorms and the chance of tornadoes to the dakotas and parts of minnesota. isolated thunderstorms will pop up from new england to virginia. the west will be mostly dry. in sports this morning, team usa is coming on strong at the london olympics. gabby douglas wowed the crowd with her floor routine and went on to become the third straight american woman and the first african-american ever to win a all around gymnastics gold medal. michael phelps won his 16th gold. rebecca soni set a world record and winning the gold in the 200-meter breaststroke. kayla harrison became the first

american ever to win an olympic gold medal in judo. she was overcome with emotion on the podium. carmelo anthony led the u.s. with a best 37 points including a dozen three-pointers. showing off as the americans scored an olympic record 156 to nigeria's 73. team usa leads china in the medal count. 37 to 34. each team with 18 gold medals. japan remains in third place with 19 medals, two gold. to baseball, oakland at texas. bottom of the fourth, the rangers, cruz hit a solo home run to tie the game at 7. each team scored again but in the seventh inning, mitch moreland's pinch hit rbi single put the rangers up for good. still in the seventh, josh hamilton's ground rule double scored two. texas won it, 15-9. in cincinnati, ty frazier's second inning homer got the reds going in a lead against san diego. the infield sparkled in the sixth. zack kozar made a diving stop.

his bare handed catch turned into a double play. cincinnati won 9-4. finally, you never know what you will see or hear at a baseball game. take a look at this. >> that is an intern for the minor league daytona cubs in florida. played three blind mice while the team's manager was arguing a call wednesday night, and the umpire threw him out. not the manager we're talking about here, the ump ejected the intern and shut down the music. i didn't even know an umpire could do that. is he going to eject the crowd next? when we come back, mission to mars. nasa on pins and needles as the latest mars rover gets ready for an incredibly complex landing on the red planet. lunch break com. try our new lunch-size grilled chicken fajitas, with sauteed onions and peppers, served with soup or salad. lunch break combos, starting at 6 bucks.

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so i'm at my best. here's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country.

in d.c. thunderstorms, 93. same deal in atlanta, 90. thunderstorms in st. louis, 94 degrees. thunderstorms in denver, 93. and partly cloudy skies in seattle, 80 degrees. nerves are on edge in nasa. tomorrow's rover is on final approach to the red planet after a nine-month journey. and it's landing this week could be rocky. edward lawrence reports. it's the biggest and most complex mars rover ever built. it's called "curiosity." nasa launched it last november. now scientists are anxiously awaiting its touchdown late sunday night pacific time. the risky procedure requires the spacecraft to zig and zag as it goes from 13,000 miles per hour to zero in seven minutes. >> is this going to work? >> we have a lot of confidence it's going to work. there are certainly a lot of new elements. our entry descent and landing, because of the size of the rover, was a new type of entry descent and landing. >> one wrong move could doom the project.

nasa has to wait 14 minutes before radio transmissions reach the earth signaling success or failure. >> we're about to land a small compact car on the surface with a trunk load of instruments. >> the lander weighs a total of 1 ton and it cost $2.5 billion to build. once on the ground, the research starts immediately. >> roughly, the first two weeks will be spent putting up the mast, using the instruments that are associated with the mast, doing remote sensing. >> curiosity is on a two-year mission to search for signs of whether there was life on mars. >> any school kid you talk to, anyone who looked at the stars and wondered what's out there, that yearning is still in us. this is a great investment and a great next step to try to answer that question once and for all. >> with its high-powered laser it can blast through rock and identify what elements are inside. a robot arm can touch the rocks. first, curiosity must survive the fiery plunge through the atmosphere. edward lawrence for cbs news, pasadena. >> all righty, let's see if it

happens. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." david. we've got to cancel. i've got gas. ooh gas, take an antacid. oh, thanks. good luck. good luck to you. doesn't he know antacids won't help gas? oh, he knows. [ male announcer ] antacids don't relieve gas. gas-x is designed to relieve gas. gas-x. the gas xperts. it's creamy, nonfat, and it turns the next person you see into john stamos for five seconds. honey! i think i'm getting burned! heh! eat. ♪ tastes pretty good, huh? ♪ best yogurt ever. yeah! [ men grunting ] open!

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4 minutes before 5:00 on this friday morning. how about the weekend? here is tim in for marty at first warning weather. >> it's going to be a warm and humid afternoon shaping up today. it's going to translate into a warm and humid weekend. we have just a chance of some widely scattered showers. today 94 our head line. partly sunny, a thunderstorm around in the afternoon. over night lows around 72 with a thunderstorm around early. for your saturday and your sunday really partly sunny, a thunderstorm in spots. it sound like a broken record. hot, humid through the weekend. the same sex marriage battle. is

public opinion changing? >> air traffic controllers made what could have been a fatal mistake at reagan airport. >> ryan lochte and michael phelps battle in the olympics. >> more weather, news and your release me, momigus! that's mom to you. and you should eat something that's good for you before you go outside. never! come on james. it's a new fiber one chewy bar. chocolatey and delicious. fiber one chewy bar, huh? mmm. refueled space captain james. [ male announcer ] new fiber one chewy bars. great taste kids love

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it's the week's end and it's 5 o'clock. our planets are shining b